BSW and AfD in Saxony-Anhalt plan to jointly vote against aid to Ukraine

The BSW party in Saxony-Anhalt has announced its intention to pass a resolution against German aid to Ukraine together with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — if it enters the state parliament in elections taking place next Sunday.

This was reported by NTV.

BSW’s leading candidates in the upcoming elections, Claudia Wittig and Thomas Schulze, said they are counting on AfD support to secure a parliamentary majority on the issue.

“We hope that with the votes of the AfD, a majority for this resolution will be achieved in the new state parliament,” — Wittig and Schulze said in a statement.

A BSW representative noted, however, that there is no formal agreement with the AfD on the matter. The statement also notes that the party Die Linke (the Left) could theoretically join in supporting the resolution as well.

The document put forward by the leading candidates is titled “BSW Emergency Program for a Peaceful Saxony-Anhalt.” Its key objective is to ensure that the new state government opposes “billions in military aid” to Ukraine in the Bundesrat. According to the program’s authors, support for Ukraine is a financial burden and increases the risk that “the war will spill over into Germany.”

“We want a policy that will once again care more about Köthen than about Kyiv,” — Wittig and Schulze stated.

BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht had previously stated that “not one cent more” should be sent to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, an Insa poll conducted in early February for the newspaper Bild showed that across Germany as a whole, a majority of citizens are prepared to offer Ukraine more active support. Some 52% of respondents said they support the West increasing its aid to Ukraine if Russia refuses a ceasefire and peace negotiations. Thirty-five percent are against further support for Ukraine, while another 13% gave no answer.

Opinion polls in Saxony-Anhalt show that BSW is hovering on the threshold of entering parliament with a result of 3–4%. The AfD, meanwhile, leads in the region with 40% to 42% support. BSW’s intention to cooperate with the far right has already caused serious tension within the party itself and drawn criticism from other political forces.